Bristle feeding mechanism for brushmaking machines



Aug. 15, 1944. CAVE Elf/L 2,356,121

BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR BRUSH MAKIflG MACHINES Filed July 22, 1941 3 Sheejbs-Sheet 1 147' R'NEY Aug. 15, 1944. H. CAVE ETAL 2,356,121

BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR BRUSH MAKING MACHINES Filed July 22, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 15, 1944. VE ETAL BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR BRUSH MAKING MACHINES Filed July 22, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2 Avugxvroks g 2 g 47-7-0 A/E'Y Patented Aug. 15, 1944 BBISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR BBUSHIKAKING MACHINES Henry Cave and Alfred L. Le Febvre, Hartford,

Com, assignors to The Fuller Brush Company,

2 Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Applicationluly 22, 1941, Serial No. 403,558

13 Claim.

This invention relates to mechanism for feeding brush material to brush making devicu, and while the term "bristles" is' used herein as a name for such material, it will be understood that this term is intended to apply to and cover all of the various kinds of animal, vegetable, mineral, or whatsoever material may be employed in brush manufacture.

An object of the invention, among others, is the provision of means whereby a constant supply of brush material to brush making mechanism, commonly by means of a hopper, may be mechanically maintained and whereby pressure against the .mass of material will be such as to provide a most effective feed or supply of the material to said mechanism. Other objects of the invention will appear as the description unfolds, and these objects may be attained in the construction, use, or sale of machines embodying the invention and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of this. improved mechanism for feeding brush material, with parts broken away to show construction.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a view in vertical section on a plane denoted by the broken line 3--3 of- Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a top view in horizontal section substantially on a plane denoted by the broken line 4| of Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a view in rear elevation.

Figure 6 is an illustrative view showing the operation of the reciprocating bristle feed.

Figure '7 is a similar view illustrating this feed device in advanced position.

Figure 8 is another similar view illustrating a still further advanced position of said device.

Figure 9 is still another similar view showing a still further advanced position of this device,

In the accompanying drawings, referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 which illustrate this improved bristle feed, the numeral l0 denotes a feed shaft to which a pair of spaced apart sheaves II are secured and which support a pair of feed belts i 2 of the endless type and which may be driven by power applied to the shaft III in a manner to be presently described, the opposite ends of said belts being supported in a manner common to structures of this type and concerning which a description will not be required for a full understanding of the device. Rolls or bunches l3 of brush material are placed upon the belt either manually or mechanically as may be desired, such material being moved into the upper end of a hopper or chute H for downward movement within the hopper and for supply to a notched feed disk I! located at the lower end of the hopper and in close proximity thereto whereby the brush material may be received in notches IS in the disk as the latter is rotated. A guard I'I extends partially around disk I! as a means for retaining the brush material within the notches It, the collection of the brush material by the disk being in the form of wisps which, in the machine herein particularlydescribed, project at opposite ends on opposite sides of the disk for delivery to the brush making machinery which operates to remove the wisps from the notches it, in a manner that will be readily un derstood by those skilled in the art of operation of brush making machinery.

As a means for keeping the hopper or chute filled with the brush material a series of pairs of fingers III are pivotally mounted upon a finger carrier l9 secured to and rotatable with the shaft III, in the form herein shown this carrier being secured to one of the sheaves II as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Each pair [8 of fingers is-secured to and projects from a rocker 2i mounted on a pivot pin 22 secured to and extending from the carrier l9, one end of each of said rockers being biased as by means of a spring 23 into contact with a rocker actuating cam 24 secured to a cam support 25 extending upwardly from the base portion of a bracket 21 secured to an extension 28 from a column 29 comprising a part of the main frame of the machine. The feed shaft III is rotatably mounted in the outer supporting arm 26 and in column 29, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

The pulley 33 is secured to a sprocket wheel 35 driven by means of a sprocketchain 36 extending from and around a sprocket wheel 31 rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 38 secured to and projecting from a boss 39 protrudingfrom the side of the extension 28 as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A driving sprocket wheel 40 is secured to the sprocket wheel 31 and is driven as by means of a sprocket chain ll extending from any suitable source of power.

The belt 32 travels in contact with an idler 42 mounted on one arm 43 of a tensioning lever pivotally supported on the shaft In, the other arm 44 of said lever being adapted to receive a weight as a means for varying thetensioning force of the lever in a manner that will be readily understood,

Guide plates 45 are spaced apart on opposite rods 48 extending from one side of the column' 29, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5 of the drawings.

The guard I1 is supported on the rods 48.

The purpose for providing tension means for the belt 32 is to enable said belt to slip and thereby avoid undue pressure upon the material at the entrance-end of the hopper by the fingers i8 which when a certain predetermined resistance is offered to their movement will stop by reason of slipping of the belt and pressure upon the mass of material within the hopper is thereby maintained to such degree as may be desired. while at the same time the hopper is kept filled with the material in proper condition for the most effective supply to the disk at the outlet-end of the hopper by means of which it is rem d for supply to the brush making devices.

A presser feed is employed for pressing the bristles into-contact with the disk l5 and into the notches IS in said disk, this presser comprising a base 49 mounted on a pivot stud 50 projecting from 'the side of a disk 5| and into an angular. slot 52 in the base 45. The stud 50 comprises a crank by means of which lengthwise and vertical movements are imparted to the forked end of the presser feed, this forked end comprising prongs 53-54. There are two prongs 53 spaced apart and located on opposite sides of the central prong 54 and the latter, comprises two members spaced apart to straddle a guard 55 that operates to retain the bristles in the hopper.

It is essential that a certain amount of pressure be placed upon the bristles at the lower end of the hopper in order to ensure that the notches IS in the disk l5 shall be properly filled but this pressure is required only when the notches are passing underneath the delivery-end of the hopper. In fact more pressure is detrimental to proper feed of the bristles from the hopper. Therefore the presser feed is arranged to apply the added pressure only at the time that the notches ii are passing the delivery-end of the hopper, this being illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 of the drawings wherein in Fig. 6 the feed comprising the prongs 539-54 is shown in position just before entrance of the prongs into the mass 56 of bristles within the hopper, the prongs at this time being stationary for a brief interval pending movement of the pivot stud 50 along the slot 52 into the position shown in Fig. '1 in which thepivot has enaged the end of the horizontal portion of the slot and partially inserted the prongs into the bristle mass. In Figure 8 the prongs are shown as fully entered into the bristle mass and full pressure is being applied to crowd said mass into the notch ii. In Fig. 9 the stud 50 is shown as just leaving the slot 52 and the notch l5 well filled is passing from underneath the hopper. From this point to the position of the parts shown in Fig. 6 the stud 50 will pass into the vertical portion of the slot and withdraw the presser from the mass after which the presser will be raised to the position shown in Fig. 7 to again re-enter the bristle mass. The end of the presser opposite the prongs is supported on a spring" mounted on a post 58 pivotally supported at its lower end on a base 55, the upper end of the post passing through an opening at the end of the presser, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8 to 9 of the drawings. A spring 50 attached at one end to the base 59 and at its opposite end to the presser is employed to ensure proper operation of the presser by withdrawing the prongs from the bristle mass in the hopper and for exerting downward pressure on the presser after it is released from the mass to effect location, of the stud in the upper part of the angular slot.

The mechanism herein described automatically maintains a constant supply of the brush material at'the entrance-end of the hopper in Just sumcient quantities to compensate for the amount of material removed from the opposite end of the hopper and this without undue pressure upon the materal such as would cause it to bulge within the hopper and bind against the walls thereof, and at the same time an intermittent pressure is applied to the material near the outlet-end of the hopper to press it into the notches in the feed disk, such pressure taking place only at the time that the notches are passing underneath the outlet-end of the hopper.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes we have described the principles of operation of our invention, together with the device which we now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but we desire to have it understood that the device shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set out.

We claim:

1. A bristle feeding mechanism including a hopper with means for moving bristles from the outlet end thereof, mechanical means for uninterruptedly maintaining a constant supply of bristles and for feeding them into the hopper at the inlet end thereof to maintain a constant supply thereat, means for normally exerting an even, direct, continuous pressure upon said bristle mass at the inlet end of the hopper, and means for exerting .lessening pressure upon the bristle mass near but within the outlet end of the hopper.

2. A bristle material feeding mechanism comprising a hopper for said material, a notched member movable across the outlet end of the hopper for the reception of wisps of material in the notch in said member and to remove and form said wisps by a sweeping action of the notch across the end of the hopper, a presser device insertable into the mass of material within the hopper, means for inserting said device into and for withdrawing it from said mass, means for intermittently creating pressure on said device in timed relation to the passing of said notch in said member across the bottom of the hopper to press said material into the notch as said notch passes across the mouth of the hopper, means for automatically moving material up to the inlet end of the hopper to maintain a constant supply thereat and to feed it into the hopper, and means for normally extei'ting an even, direct. continuous pressure upon said bristle mass at the inlet end of the hopper.

3. A bristle material feeding mechanism comprising a hopper for said material, a notched member movable across the bottom of said hopper for the reception of wisps of material in the notch in said member and to remove and form said wisps by a sweeping action of the notch across the end of the hopper, a presser device insertable into the mass within the hopper to press said material into the notch as said notch passes across the mouth of the hopper, means for inserting said device into and for withdrawing it from said mass, means for creating pressure on said device while in said mass, means for moving the device to enter the hopper at a point different from that at which it was withdrawn, means for preventing backward movement of the mass when said presser device is withdrawn therefrom, and means for normally exerting an even, direct continuous pressure upon said bristle mass at the inlet end of the hopper.

4. A bristle material feeding mechanism comprising a hopper for said material, a support, a finger pivotally mounted on the support, means for inserting the finger into the mass of material at the entrance end of the hopper to cause movement of the mass along the hopper commensurate with the removal of bristles from the outlet end of the hopper, means for maintaining a variable pressure of the finger against the mass dependent upon the amount of gradual reduction in volume of the same, means for withdrawing the finger from the mass, means for positively preventing backward movement of the mass when said finger is withdrawn, and means for removing material from the outlet end of the hopper.

5. A bristlematerial feeding mechanism comprising a hopper for a mass of bristles or similar material, means for removing material from one end of the mass, a presser device engageable with said mass within the hopper to cause movement of the mass along the hopper commensurate with the amount of bristles removed from the opposite end of the mass, means for engaging the presser device within the mass, means for disengaging it therefrom, means regulated by the pressure of the mass within the hopper for maintaining a variable pressure of the presser device against the mass during a gradual reduction in the volume of the mass, and means for positively preventing backward movement of the mass when said device is removed therefrom.

6. A bristle material feeding mechanism comprising a hopper, a notched member movable across the outlet-end of the hopper for the reception of wisps of material in a notch in said member, a presser device, a crank member engaged with said device for inserting it into and for withdrawing it from said mass, said crank being arranged for exerting a variable pressure on said device when presented in said mass, means for operating the crank member, and means for positively preventing backward movement of the mass when said presser device is removed therefrom.

7. A bristle material feeding mechanism including a hopper, a notched member movable across the outlet-end of the hopper for the reception of wisps of material in a notch in said member, a pronged presser device and an actuating device therefor, one of said devices having a crank toengage an angularly shaped slot in the other of said devices to enter said presser device in and to withdraw it from said mass. means for exerting pressure on said presser device when contained in said mass, and means for preventing backward movement of the mass within the hopper when said presser device is removed from the 8. A bristle feeding mechanism including a hopper, a notched member movable across the outlet end of the hopper for the reception of wisps of material in a notch in said member, a presser device having an angularly shaped slot therein, an actuating device having a crank engageable in said slot to insert said presser device into and withdraw it from said mass and to exert pressure thereon when contained in the mass, and means for preventing backward movement of said mass when said presser device is removed therefrom.

9. A bristle feeding mechanism including a hopper, means for supplying material to and for moving it into the inlet-end of the hopper, a notched member for removing material from the outlet-end of the hopper, a pronged presser device insertable into the mass and removable therefrom, means for inserting and withdrawing said presser device from said mass, means for effecting pressure upon said presser device in timed relation with the passing of said notch across the outlet-end of the hopper, and means at the inletend of the hopper to positively prevent backward movement of the mass within the hopper.

10. A bristle feeding mechanism comprising a hopper, means for supplying material to the inlet end of the hopper and for forcing it along the hopper, means for removing material from the opposite end of the hopper, means operable independently of but simultaneously with said forcing means for applying pressure to the mass toward the lower end of the hopper, and means for positively preventing backward movement of the mass when said last mentioned pressure means is removed.

11. In a bristle feeding mechanism including a hopper, a rotatably mounted supporting member, a presser member pivotally mounted on said sup porting member in position to enter a mass of material within the hopper, means for swinging said presser member on its pivot, in one direction, means for preventing its movement in an opposite direction when inserted in said mass, means for removing material from the lower end of the hopper, and a second means for exerting pressure on said mass but toward the lower end of the hopper.

12. In a bristle feeding mechanism including a hopper, means for supplying brush material to the hopper at its upper end, means for removing material from the lower end of the hopper, a crank pin revolubly mounted adjacent the hopper, a base member having an angularly shaped slot engaged by said pin, and a presser finger projecting from said base member and insertable thereby into said mass and removable thereby from said mass.

13. A bristle feeding mechanism for brush making machines including a hopper with means for moving bristles from the outlet end thereof, mechanical means for intermittently maintaining a constant supply of bristles and for feeding them into the hopper at the inlet end thereof to maintain a constant supply therein, fiivotally mounted and bodily movable means for exerting pressure upon the bristle mass within the hopper near the outlet end thereof to expel the mass from the hopper, and means independent of the bodily movement of said pressure exerting means to e1 fect its pivotal movement and thereby lessen the pressure action thereof.

HENRY-CAVE.

ALFRED L. Ll IIBVRE. 

